Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-12-02
AN UGLY BRUTE.
TRAPPING THE FOUR FOOTED
TERROR OF THE ROCKIES.
Ihe Fierce Grizzly Unawed by the
Advance of Civilization-HisC Cap
ture by POnderousr Traps
Bruins Favorite Food.


mer that the hunter, miner, or prospec-
tor has to deal with. You don't have to
depend on your cunning as hunter to
insure yourself the sight of one, for they
are neither modest nor scarce about put
ting themselves in your way. AS a
general thing, if the hunter isn't expert
enced, 1t will require more cunning and
skill for him to get out of the sight of a
grizzly than it will for him to come in
sight of one. Since went to the Rock
les the Indian has been greatly awed
and tanned down, but the advance of
civilization has not added one iota of
sweetness to the grizzly bears temper or
tended to dull his claws or loosen his
teeth.
"As far as danger is concerned, be-
lieve there is more in trapping the griz-
zly than there is in chasing him with
rifle. Our traps are ponderous iron
implements, as heavy as three of your
black bear traps, and with jaws so stiff
that it requires two men using lever to
force them open SO they can be set We
attach strong chain to the trap, the
same as you do for the playthings you
call bear here in the East, but our chains
are strong enough for log chains. At the
other end of the chain is attached an
iron ring or band six or eight inches in
diameter. This is forced, by pounding
1t with maui, over the end of log six
feet long and big enough around to make
the iron band fit so tightly around it that
1t can't be pulled off. When grizzly
steps on the pan of one of those great
traps and the stiff jaws close on his leg,
the heavy log serves as a hindrance to
him as he drags it along by the chain on
his retreat to his haunts in the tangled
thlckets he favors. A great deal of cum
nlng. has to be used in setting trap for
grizzly bear, for he is almost as sus-
pcious as the fox, and will frequently
desert what has the appearance of good
meal If he makes up his mind that dan
ger is lurking near. He never hesitates
to risk danger that he may see positively
confronting or challenging him, in the
way OF hunter, dog, or anything else,
but suspicious-looking object. the ma.
ture of which he cannot understand, is
enough to start him off about his busi.
ness and to keep him moving until he
has placed a good extent of territory
between him and the mysterious cause
of his fear.
"And what do yol suppose is the fla.
gorite food of this fierce and hulkino
monster| Ground mice, moles, grubS
and crickets. What do you think of a
great bloodthirsty beast, weighing /, 20C
pounds, hunting and devouring such in.
significant things as these? Yet a grizzly
bear will do that all day long. Once
trapped for several days for big grizzly
that was prowling about mining camr
where was staying, but failed in every
attempt l made to lead the willy beast
into my steel. was about to give hin
up as bad job, when l heard a ground
mouse squealing near where the trap wa,
set, and l made up my mind to give the
bear one trial with few of these little
chaps as lures. After long and tedious
search, caught dozen mice, and, Gov
erlng up my trap carelessly with some
dead branches, tied half dozen of thu
mice by strings to pegs in the grount
around the trap. When / visited tn,
spot an hour or so later | found Mr.
Grizzly fast, with both of his paws in tn,
trap. The mice had overcome his fears
and put him out of his trouble by load
ing HIM with few rifle balls. Afte
that | would never have used anythine
else but ground mice to tempt grizzlie
to my traps, but they are not an easy
thing to get hold of, and 1 had to d,
without them except on rare occasions.
II believe that the experience of al
grizzly-bear trappers has proved that
grizzly will invariably escape from tra1
if he is not overtaken by the hunte
within few hours after being caught
1t is to lessen the danger of this that al
the skillful trappers fasten the clog t.
the trap with the chain on one end of it
Some trappers faSten the chain at tn
middle of the log, but that shows tha
the man don't know his business. Wit
the chain fastened at the end of the clio
it is dragged along endwise, and clear
all distractions that would catch an
hold it crosswise if it were dragged fror
the middle Nine times out of te
grizzly will be caught by the trap NO
far from the extremity of one of his for
paws Very rarely can it happen tha
both paws are in the trap. On bein
caught the bear rushes with all the spec
he can summon, and in q tremendou
rage, toward the nearest swamp G
thicket, neither of which he has TO o
far to find. He seems to know that hi
life depends on his speedily Kidding him
self of the incumbrance of the trap. A
he tears onward through the forest
mows great swaths in the underbrust
He drags the trap and clog again,
trees, logs and rocks, and wheneve
some obstruction holds them fast,
tugs and jerks his imprisoned foot, tr,
ing to tear it loose. If the chain hel
the clog in the middle the bear woul
not go far before the drag woul
be caught between two trees and hel
securely. Then one or two determine
lunges backward by the bear with h
enormous body would tear the fot
loose, and the grizzly would escaI
to the swamp. | have more than one
come up with my trap and found nothir
in it but the ragged and bloody half
some monster bears foot, and such h
been the experience of all trappers.
"The further grizzly goes on b
furious march without riding himself
the trap the greater his rage become
If it happens to strike against tree ar
does not hold there he will turn on Il
tree and tear its trunk with his teet
sometimes gnashing half the trunk ava
have followed The trail of grizzli
through the thick timber while they we
endeavor ng to free themselves of the
traps, and have counted sapling aft
sap ing ch wed to the ground as col
pletely as if they had been chopped dov
with an axe, the trees being covered wi